The Chronic Consumer

A couple of my friends have children who are beginning to play organized sports like soccer and baseball. As a result, they of course have to start buying uniforms that include things like team t-shirts and jackets.

I recommended that my friends check out an online wholesale clothing supplier for their uniform needs instead of going to local screen-printing shops. That’s because online wholesalers often provide the same quality garments at much lower prices and lower minimum quantities than local bricks and mortar stores. And given the fact that my friends’ children will need new uniforms and such nearly every year, I think buying whole would definitely save a lot of money.

This is what I’m going to do when my boy starts playing sports, so let’s see if I can benefit from my own tip here!

I signed up for Snapfish a long time ago, so I now get email updates from them. I just received a notice that they’re offering free shipping on 2007 holiday cards from now until October 31. All you have to do is enter the code SHIPCARDS at checkout, and the discount will be applied.

I’ve never actually used Snapfish, but have heard that it’s pretty good. For the holiday cards, they have over 50 different designs you can choose from (available in 4×8 and 5×7 sizes). According to the Snapfish website, each holiday card personalized with your favorite photo costs less than $.50, which is a pretty good deal.

Anyway, if you’re into photo greetings for the holidays, order now and get free shipping at Snapfish!

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about how I bought a Nintendo DS game called Pac ‘N Roll as a little reward for my son’s efforts at school. But as I said in that review, the extensive use of the stylus during gameplay makes the whole thing too difficult for my four-year-old, so I continued shopping for another title that he would be able to enjoy right now. I bought DK Jungle Climber, and am happy to say that my son loves this game!

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge video game fan. I used to play when I was a kid, but gave everything up once I entered high school. I just started playing again earlier this year when I bought my DS Lite, so I’ve been out of the loop for quite a while. As a result, I don’t know the history of the games I write about or anything like that. For instance, people have told me that the Donkey Kong franchise has been going strong for years and years — a fact that surprised me since I hadn’t heard about any new DK games since the original came out in the 1980s.

Anyway, after playing DK Jungle Climber for about 10 days now, I’ve formed some initial impressions that I want to tell you about. First of all, I think this game is a lot of fun and is well suited to players of all ages. You mostly use the L and R buttons to move DK through the worlds, which is something that takes a while to get used to in the beginning. But after that, the game is really a blast!

What you’re basically doing is just controlling DK through different levels while collecting special items and avoiding enemies. DK moves by climbing and swinging across pegboards and other obstacles using a hand-over-hand style. That’s where the L and R buttons come in, as those buttons correspond to DK’s hands. By pushing L-R-L-R, for example, you would climb up a pegboard by using your left hand, right hand, left hand again, and then right hand again.

Along the way, you’ll have opportunities to play with Diddy Kong clinging to your neck, and you might also get tips and advice from Cranky Kong to help you navigate particularly tricky sections.

I haven’t made it all the way through the game yet, so there aren’t really too many other details I can give you. I do want to say that my son likes this game a lot and hasn’t gotten bored with it yet, so I definitely recommend this title for younger kids as well!

My mother is in her late fifties and goes to the gym three times a week for an aerobics class, some weight training, and about 30 minutes on the treadmill. She’s been following this routine for more than a decade now, and is in much better shape than I am! The problem is that recently she’s been feeling the aftereffects of her workouts much more acutely in the form of muscle and joint pain.

This is likely just the result of aging, so there’s no need to be alarmed by what’s going on. But she does need some kind of pain reliever to help get her through. Obviously she doesn’t want to take anything that she could potentially become hooked on, so we’re looking for some all-natural products here.

Do you have any recommendations for products that have provided you with osteoarthritis relief and/or eased muscle pain? If so, please share the info with me! My mom was thinking of pain relief pills, but I guess if you’ve had success with creams or gels she’d be willing to try those too.

I have a WordPress stats program installed on this site, and one of the things it does is tell me which keywords a person used to get here from the search engines. There are some really strange ones, of course, and usually I get a good chuckle out of those.

But today, I noticed a keyword string that made me marvel at how stupid people can be. In fact, I now feel compelled to write this PSA in response to that one special visitor I had this afternoon, who arrived here via the query “oxiclean as a colon cleanser”.

Look at the label on your OxiClean container. See that part in big letters that says DO NOT INGEST? Yeah, that means don’t eat it, drink it, snort it, or otherwise inject it into your body. Understand?

Sheesh.

I mentioned a little while back that I purchased a Reebok Women’s NFL Replica jersey from ESPNshops.com. I went with an Alex Smith jersey in size XL, and was surprised at how different it was compared to the Tom Brady replica I have. As a result, I’ve decided to write a complete review highlighting the differences here.

First of all, I bought the Brady jersey a couple years ago when Reebok first started the women’s replica line. At that time, the jerseys were NOT see-thru mesh like the men’s jerseys are. They were made from a double layer of mesh or something so you couldn’t really see through it. I actually liked that style at the time because it meant that I didn’t have to wear another shirt underneath the jersey.

With the mesh jersey, I’m forced to wear at least two shirts now (for obvious reasons). I’m a bit torn as to which style I prefer. On the one hand, I hate layering up when I don’t have to. For example, even though it’s October, we’re still having 70-80 degree weather here in Chicago, making it pretty uncomfortable to sit through football games with two shirts on. But on the other hand, the mesh style looks far more authentic than the solid material. So I guess it comes down to a matter of comfort/convenience versus looks.

I think all of the Reebok women’s replicas are mesh now, so just be aware of that if you haven’t bought a new one in a while. This fact was noted in the product description and was apparent in the photos; I just wasn’t paying close enough attention, I guess.

Another thing that’s different is the collar. My Brady jersey has a very thick V-neck collar that measures an inch across. This collar is very noticeable because it’s so different from the men’s jersey styles. Take a look at this photo for reference.

The newer Smith jersey, on the other hand, has the usual thin V-neck collar that you see on the real jerseys — along with the “NFL Equipment” shield that’s not present on the Brady version. This one measures just .4 inches thick, making it much, much better than the old style. Take a look.

Yet another difference is that the newer Smith jersey comes with a tag where you can write your name (I don’t do this, of course, but it looks more like the men’s jerseys this way). The Brady jersey just has a generic Reebok tag. Here are more comparison photos.

And finally, the Brady jersey tapers in at the waist to fit the female form a bit better. While the description for the Smith jersey says that it does the same, the taper isn’t noticeable at all. This could be due to the fact that I bought an XL this time around, but I’m not sure about that. I don’t care for the tapered fit on a football jersey anyway, so this wasn’t a big deal for me. I just thought you should know about this before you buy.

Overall, I think my Smith jersey is waaay better than the Brady jersey I bought a couple of years ago. All of the differences (except for the mesh, which I’m still not sure about) were major improvements, so now the women’s replicas look exactly like the men’s replicas do. Therefore, I think the Reebok Women’s NFL Replica Jersey is an exceptional product, and well worth the $59.99 price tag. This is a must-have for all you female football fans out there!!

A little while back, I wrote how I’ve already created Christmas shopping lists for most of my immediate family members and several close friends, which should make my life a whole lot easier when the holiday season rolls around. The only person I had trouble coming up with ideas for was my husband, so for the last week and a half, I’ve been scouring the Internet looking for suitable gifts for him.

During my many web wanderings, I came across a great site called CarGuyGarage.com that has a bunch of potential gifts that I’m sure my husband would love. As you know, my husband is a rabid motocross racer, and uses our garage space to store his equipment and tools, as well as to wrench on his bikes. The place is a mess right now, so he sure could use a new storage cabinet, toolbox, or metal pegboard to keep everything organized.

Yes, I think I’ve finally hit on some Christmas gift ideas that are perfect for my very hard-to-shop-for husband! I recommend that you check out CarGuyGarage.com for yourself if you’re having similar problems shopping for the man in your life.

Having purchased a Victorinox SwissMemory multi-tool a few months ago, I am finally getting around to posting a review now. This tool comes from the makers of the original Swiss Army Knife, and contains a decidedly 21st Century addition: a removable 512MB thumb drive. I am addicted to thumb drives, flash drives, and other portable storage devices, so it’s not really surprising that I decided to buy this tool. Here’s what I think of it after extensive use.

This tool is very compact, as you’d expect from Victorinox products. It’s less than 3 inches long and less than 2 inches thick, making it very easy to carry in your purse or pocket. There’s a keyring on the tool, but I think it’s too bulky to attach to the rest of my keys. It’s just better to keep the SwissMemory separate.

The tool comes with the following features:

• Removable 512MB memory stick
• Knife blade
• Nail file with screwdriver tip
• Retractable ballpoint pen
• Scissors
• LED mini-light
• Keyring

The package also includes instructions and an extension cable for the memory stick.

This is easily one of the handiest little tools I’ve ever owned. I’ve never really carried around a pocket knife before, but now that I have one, I’m constantly finding uses for it. I’m using it to open letters and packages, and even had to make use of the screwdriver blade once when I was in my car. Moreover, the memory stick (which is the real reason I got this thing in the first place) is great for all those times when I unexpectedly need to copy or transfer computer files from one machine to another.

The LED light is about the only tool I don’t use, and that’s because the light is red for some reason. I can’t read or even see very clearly when something is illuminated in red light, so I simply don’t bother using it.

Overall, I have to say that the Victorinox SwissMemory 512MB tool is well worth the $34.99 that I paid for it from Amazon.com. I think something like this would make a great gift, so I’m going to order a few more as stocking stuffers for Christmas this year. I highly recommend purchasing this product; I know you won’t be disappointed!